Cutter valve for release of fluids



Aug. 3; 1933. APE 1,921,831

' CUTTER VALVE FOR RELEASE OF FLUIDS Filed May 15, 1928 INVENTORPatented Aug. 8, 1933 UNITED STATES CUTTER VALVE FOR RELEASE OF DanielMapes, Mamaroneck, N. Y., assignor to Walter Kidde & Company, Inc., NewYork,

N. Y., a Corporation Application May 15, 1928.

6 Claims.

This invention has been developed with particular reference to therelease of carbon dioxide under pressure for the purpose ofextinguishing fire, but, as will be understood, is capable ofapplication for other purposes and wherever there is interposed betweenthe fluid under pressure and the delivery passage a sealing disc which,so long as it is intact, prevents the loss of the fluid, but which mustbe ruptured when the fluid is required for use. In Letters Patent of theUnited States No. 1,674,427, dated June 19, 1928, issued upon theapplication of Walter H. Freygang, Serial No. 42,710, flled July 10,1925, and co-pending with the present application, there'is shown anddescribed a cutter valve designed for the general purpose abovedescribed and in which a device by which the sealing disc is to beruptured is advanced by hand operated means; When there is but onecontainer the contents of which is to be released it is practicable tooperate the cutter valve by hand, but in many cases there must beprovided a battery of fluid containers, from all of which the fluid mustbe released simultaneously in order that the fluid shall be dischargedin sumcient volume to meet the conditions. It has been found in practicethat the operation by hand of a plurality of such cutter valves is notalways practicable and it is therefore 'the object of this invention toprovide means whereby a plurality of such cutter valves can be operatedby means other than hand operated devices and preferably by pressure ofthe fluid which is to be'discharged, the operating fluid pressure beingderived, through suitable connections, from one of the containers, such,for example, as one of the commercial containers of carbon dioxideliquefied under pressure.

In accordance with the invention the device by which the sealing disc isto be ruptured is carried by a piston behind which may be admitted thefluid pressure necessary to operate the rupturing device. It will beunderstood that in the extinguishing of fires by carbon dioxide suppliedfrom the ordinary containers in which the fluid is liquefied under highpressure, the pressure of the fluid of a single container is suflicientto operate simultaneously and instantly the cutter valves of a largenumber of containers.

The invention will be more fully explained hereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawing the single figure of which shows in verticalsection a convenient embodiment of the invention, a portion of a singlecontainer, with its sealing disc, being also shown.

In the drawingof New York Serial No. 278,009

There is represented at a a portion of an ordinary container of carbondioxide, from which the fluid is discharged through a pipe 12 which isextended nearly to the bottom of the container. To the containerissecured one member 0 of a suitable coupling, into which the pipe b maybe threaded, such coupling member being provided at c with a seat for asealing disc d, held in place by a thimble 11 The functionof the disc,as is understood, is to prevent loss of the fluid contents of thecontainer. It has in itself sufficient strength to resist the pressureof the fluid. For convenience in manufacture and assembling a secondcoupling member e is formed separately from the coupling member 0 andmay be secured thereto by a sleeve nut e The coupling member ischambered, as at e to receive with a close working fit, as at e and at ea piston member f which in the construction shown has a passagetherethrough to permit the passage of the fluid from the container tothe outlet and is formed with a sleeve extension f also received with aclose working fit in the coupling member, whereby there is provided ameans to prevent the passage of gas from the container to the undersideof the piston, where it might interfere with the proper operativemovement of the piston and the disc rupturing device carried thereby ashereinafter described. It may also be formed, as at 6 with a vent orvents to prevent the building up of back pressure under the piston or asa means to prevent effective resistance to the operative movement of thepiston. A spring g may be provided between the coupling member e and thepiston ,f to hold the piston normally in its upper position. A thirdmember h of the coupling, also for. convenience rormed separately, is.threaded on the coupling member 2 and is chambered above the piston, asat h and is provided with a delivery connection, as at h through whichfluid under pressure may be introduced from a suitable source for theoperation of the piston and through which, when the sealing'disc d isruptured, the contents of the container (1 may pass for delivery at thepoint required. In the construction shown the piston fis extendedsomewhat above the head of the piston, as at 7 and is provided with oneor more ports, as at F, to establish communication between the containerand the delivery passage. Carried by the piston ,f is a device 1' bywhich the sealing disc d is to be ruptured. In the construction shownthis rupturing device is a tubular cutter formed with ports 1 whichregister with ports I of the piston ex- 110 tension F, the constructionbeing such, as explained in the Patent No. 1,674,427 above mentioned,that forward movement or the cutter with the piston will cutout thecentral portion of the sealing. disc d which will then be driven, by thepressure of the fluid contents of the container a, through the tubularcutter i to a point beyond the ports i whereby free communicationisestablished between the c'ontainer and the delivery passage. andthefluid. contents of" the :ontainer flnd free escape. a Y

Not only is the fire extinguishing fluid available for the operation ofthe means for effecting the release of the fluid from a. battery ofcontainers, so that it is unnecessary to provide other means forbringing about the release of the fluid, such as electrically operateddevices, but such fluid pressure operated devices are thoroughlydependable. However, it has been necessary to design the .fluidreleasing means so as to avoid the possibility of the release of thefluid from one container in advance of the release of fluid from anotheror others of the containers and the subsequent building up of a pressurein the delivery system which would prevent the operation'of the fluidreleasing means oflother containers and therefore defeat the intentionto effect the release at one time of a large volume of the fluid fromall of the containers. The fluid releasing means described herein havebeen designed so as to avoid such a result. It will be seen that in thedescribed construction the fluid which effects the operation of thereleasing device is, in the preferred arrangement, admitted through thedelivery connection It, through which the fluid released from thecontainer also escapes so that there can be no building up of pressurewhich would tend to prevent the operation of the releasing devices.Furthermore, regardless of the manner in which the released fluidescapes the area of the piston I which is exposed to the pressure of theactuating fluid is much greater than the bore of the passage at.

ei, through which bore the sleeve extension below the piston or, itmight be, the tubular cutter itself, has a close working flt.Furthermore, the chamber c below the piston is vented through thepressure relief openings e Therefore'pressure cannot be built up inopposition to the operative movement of the piston and disc rupturingdevice and the operation of the-fluid releasing devices cannot bedelayed.

It will be understood that various changes in details of constructioncan be made to suit different conditions of use and that, except aspointed out in the accompanying claims, the invention is not limited tothe particular construction shown and described herein.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination of a container, a delivery connection, a chamberedcoupling in communication with the container and the deliveryconnection, a sealing disc interposed between the container and thedelivery connection, a piston mounted in the chamber of the coupling andsubject to pressure from an external source and having a sleeveextension above its head provided with a port for communication with thechamber, means to prevent effective resistance to the operative movementof the piston, and a tubular cutter carried by the piston and having aport in registration with the port in the piston extension and adaptedto cut out the central portion of the disc in its forward movement withthe piston.

2. The combination of a container, a coupling .member secured to thecontainer and formed with a seat, a sealing disc, means to retain thesealing disc on said seat, a second coupling member formed with achamber, a third coupling member secured to the second coupling memberand formed. with a delivery connection, a piston mounted in the chamberof the second member,

means to prevent effective resistance to the operlesser passagedimension than the chambers, said v bore constituting the sole directcommunication between said chambers, a sealing disc interposed betweenthe container and the fluid flow connection and arranged in one chamberof the coupling, a piston mounted in the second chamber of the couplingand subject to pressure from an external source and having a sleeveextension below its head with a close workingsubstantial- 1y gas tightflt within the bore connecting the two chambers, means to preventeffective resistance to the operative movement of the piston, and adevice carried by the piston and adapted to rupture the disc in itsforward movement with the piston.

4. The combination of a container, a coupling,

member secured to the container and formed witha seat, a sealing disc,means to retain the sealing disc on said seat, a second coupling memberdetachably secured to the first coupling member and formed with achamber and having a fluid flow connection, said last named couplngmember having a bore of lesser passage dimension than said chamber, saidbore being the sole means of direct communicationbetween said chamberand said sealing disc, a piston mounted in said chamber and subject topressure from an external source, means cooperating by a closeworkingsubstantially gas tight fit within said bore to close offcommunication between the underneath side of said piston and saidsealing disc, means to prevent efiective resistance to the operativemovement of the piston, and a device carried by the piston and adaptedto rupture the disc in its forward movement with the piston.

5. The combination of a container, a coupling member secured to thecontainer and formed with a seat, a sealing disc, means to retain thesealing disc on said seat, a second coupling member detachably securedto the first coupling member and formed with a chamber and having afluid flow connection, said last named coupling member having a bore oflesser passage dimension than said chamber, said bore being the solemeans of direct communication between said chamber and said sealingdisc, a piston mounted in said chamber and subject to pressure from anexternal source, means cooperating by a close working substantially gastight flt within said bore to close off communication between theunderneath side of said piston and said sealing disc, said meansconstituting an integral sleeve extension below the head of the piston,means to prevent effective resistance to the operative movement of thepiston, and a device carried by the piston and and said sealing disc,fluid operated means mounted in said chamber and subject to pressurefrom an external source, means cooperating by a close workingsubstantiaily gas tight fit within said bore to close off communicationbetween the underneath side of said fluid operated means and saidsealing disc, means to prevent efiective resistance to the operativemovement of the fluid operated means, and a device carried by the fluidoperated means and adapted to rupture the disc in its forward movementwith the fluid operated means.

DANIEL MAPES.

